


Bundles of Love

by LeeKnowing (ChildOfTheRevolution)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Also fluff, Canon Universe, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) is a Sweetheart, M/M, as always, bang chan best leader, banginho, basically this is just my love letter to stray kids, because we need more of this adorable ship, enjoy, light angst?, minchan, minchan rise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23939923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfTheRevolution/pseuds/LeeKnowing
Summary: When Minho was near Chan felt lighter, like the weight had been lifted.So then, why then was there this tension? A tension that seemed to come out of nowhere sometimes, and take over his body when Minho was around? It seemed to clog up his throat and make his heart race. It made Chan unsure of what to do with his hands or what to say. It had gotten worse recently, his concentration levels shot to pieces. He seemed to be sleeping less (less the normal which meant he was barely sleeping at all). If Chan didn’t try to fix... this... strangeness between them, what-ever it was, then he was screwed.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok so I made the executive decision that we needed more minchan and decided to write a little something. it's my first time writing for this ship and this is not beta read. it's almost all written so i'll update weekly? or maybe earlier, the number of chapters might change. Anyway, enjoy.

“Are you nervous around me?” 

The question was quiet, Minho’s glossy brown hair still framing a face who’s eyes never left the small phone screen in his hands.

Chan stilled, and turned to face Minho, who’s outstretched legs and unbothered countenance belied the impact of his words. 

Was he? After all this time, all this living together, was he nervous around Minho? And what did it mean if he was? What if Minho was the only member, he rarely knew what to say too if it wasn’t about choreography or singing. What if he felt a strange tension running through him when they shared a room on tour, rarely able to relax in the other man’s presence. And what if he was the only one. 

Minho was so independent and seemingly self-actualised that Chan felt envious, he seemed to know what he wanted at all times and rarely let himself get distracted by group politics or petty issues. Minho was a rare commodity, precious even, in terms of idols. Naturally charismatic without it being forced and quite comfortable with himself, happy to be a bit offbeat, happy to simply be himself. 

And unendingly talented. Chan, who still questioned his place in the world, who still felt insecure and frequently out of his depth felt far from Minho’s level of comfort with himself and with his talents. 

And Minho was good, very good. Exceptionally so. Chan’s seven years of training had given him the ability to know talent when he saw it, and Minho not only had talent but an enormous capacity for hard work. It was strange but when Chan saw Minho, looking past the ethereal good looks and the humour, he saw someone made of determination and grit. An incredibly strong will backed by an angelic face and a devastating capability to dance had been the reason Chan had picked him for their group way back when. The fact that Minho had been good humoured and friendly had been a bonus. What else had been a bonus had been Minho’s capacity for singing, it was no secret he was picked for JYP because he could dance, but it had been Minho’s voice in its variety (one that rivalled Felix in is duality) that had surprised and pleased Chan the most. Sometimes delicate like the twinkling of bells or a high angelic falsetto, to a snarling, husky growl that sounded an arrogant sneer. The duality of it constantly floored Chan. 

And Minho made him laugh, made them all laugh but especially Chan. His humour, though dry as the Sahara, and understated, would often have them all in stitches, Chan along with them and Minho’s often surprised and pleased smile at their reactions was always a gift in itself. Chan always thought that Minho was delightful, a handsome guy sure, but a quirky hilarious and offbeat guy who would march to the beat of his own drum and someone who wanted others to join him in a 4D world. 

When Minho was near Chan felt lighter, like the weight had been lifted.

So then, why then was there this tension? A tension that seemed to come out of nowhere sometimes, and take over his body when Minho was around? It seemed to clog up his throat and make his heart race. It made Chan unsure of what to do with his hands or what to say. It had gotten worse recently, his concentration levels shot to pieces. He seemed to be sleeping less (less the normal which meant he was barely sleeping at all). If Chan didn’t try to fix... this... strangeness between them, what-ever it was, then he was screwed. 

And Chan knew Minho had sensed it, knew that this was why he was asking this question. For someone who could come off as generally uninterested in those around him Minho was surprisingly perceptive when it came to the group members. And Chan, who had seemed to not really be on Minho’s radar, was now smack bang in the middle of a conversation he didn’t really know how to have. Chan was usually good at talking about emotions, but how do you talk about an emotion you can’t even identify the ones your having yourself? Butterflies and choking on words weren’t an emotion. 

Minho, despite keeping his eyes on his phone was waiting for a response, and Chan knew he probably would never ask again if Chan ignored him. Minho was a different kind of guy, sure, but he still had pride and wouldn’t lower himself to asking a question like that (a vulnerable, naked question) twice. 

Coming back to himself Chan stuttered out, “N-no, why would I be nervous around you?” Stupid Chan, answering a question with another question was a complete copout, and Minho deserved more, he deserved better from his leader. 

Minho finally looked up, his expression carelessly blank, he shrugged, “I don’t know, you just seem weird around me lately, that’s all.”

Damn him, damn Minho and his strange antenna for picking up on behaviour you rather he wouldn’t. And Chan hated that expression (or lack of in this case) on Minho’s face and nearly kicked himself as he knew that that was Minho’s “I’m kind of confused and vulnerable but I don’t want to show it” face. An expression that was rarely seen in the wild, and cautious even to those that knew it. 

And Chan knew Minho well enough that this had been something that had been eating at him for a while, he rarely bought up anything personal unless it was really bugging him. And Chan knew Minho rarely offered up much about himself personally and it had been a hard slog over the past two and a half years to feel like he had any insight into Minho and his feelings. Even now Chan would feel lost at times, struggling to understand and accommodate the feelings of someone he sometimes felt he didn’t know at all. 

Chan had been blessed with group members who seemed like open books, what you saw was what you got. Sure, they all had depth, but Chan felt like he knew them all, front and back and inside out, like you do with family. But Minho? Minho was different, not bad or wrong, just different. Like a puzzle, but all the pieces were scattered in a maze and every time you thought you found one piece that fit it ended up being from a completely different puzzle and you had to start all over again. A complicated analogy, sure, but Minho was a complicated guy. 

But at least now he felt he knew what to do, Minho was looking for reassurance that they were still on good terms, and Chan felt bad that his weird vibes had been messing with Minho and had been seemingly affected by them (Ok so maybe he liked it a little too, he felt stupidly validated that despite not being Minho’s favourite person Minho had still cared enough to notice) , “Sorry Min, I’ve just been stressed lately, that’s all. Sorry if that’s come off as weird, sometimes I can’t shake work you know?”

Minho gave him an identifiable look before going back to his phone, but he offered Chan a half-shouldered shrug, his other hand now occupied by small packet of blueberries Chan had failed to notice, throwing one in his mouth before speaking.

“I get it.”

Chan stared but Minho offered nothing else. Chan sighed, it had been good so far, them sharing a room together but it often left him frustrated and a bit off kilter. There just seemed to be a wall between them sometimes. Sometimes they were great, and Chan loved the moments when they were just being stupid, or playing around, when he seemed completely relaxed and just happy in each other’s presence. But sometimes there was that tension that seemed to come out of nowhere, when Chan would feel stuck for words or Minho’s jokes seemed a little forced, the atmosphere strange and seemingly loaded somehow.

It was true they had little to no time to truly bond before being thrown into the whirlwind which was their survival show and then debut. But that hadn’t stopped Han from quickly befriending and becoming close with Minho or stopped Felix from adopting Minho as his personal life coach/language teacher/dance mentor and who Minho, above all others, seemed to dote on. Seungmin too had been close with Minho from the start, despite their ongoing squabbles and petty arguments (which Chan had finally worked out was their way of connecting and not any actual hatred). 

Chan sighed again and Minho looked up, his face slightly curious, eyes shining from the lamp on the bedside table, his stupidly pretty eyes, “Are you sure you’re ok? You’ve been standing their sighing for like 10 minutes.”

Chan rubbed his hand over his eyes, he was hungry, he hadn’t had dinner but that wasn’t the problem here. Chan sighed again, then finally came to a decision, he wasn’t one for procrastinating nor did he in general like to overthink things, overthinking led to anxiety and anxiety was something he’d rather not have to go through again. 

But Minho made him overthink things constantly, so Chan just bit the bullet and said, finally, “Do you want to go out with me?”

Minho’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in a perfect O and Chan almost slapped himself, that was a sentence, out of context, that could be interpreted in many different ways. 

Chan was an idiot. 

“I meant,” he hastened to add, “like spend some one on one time together. As friends, to talk and stuff...” he trailed off as he felt the tell-tale burn in his earlobes that meant they were progressively getting redder as the conversation went on. 

“And stuff.” Minho replied, deadpan, his eyes indecipherable. 

“I mean, like hangout and get to know each other.”

“We’ve been in Stray Kids together for 2 years Chan. We literally live in a dorm together.”

Chan huffed; this was going terribly. Minho wasn’t giving him a single inch, but did he really expect him too? Nothing came easy when it came to Minho, especially when you were Chan. Maybe he should have brought Felix in for this conversation, not that it would have made it any less awkward, but at least Minho seemed more comfortable in Felix’s company then Chan’s. 

“I mean yeah, but I’m thinking more serious time, like together time, just the two of us.”  
Oh god that really did sound like Chan was asking Minho out on date, why weren’t his words working properly, why did this only happen when he was around Minho?

Minho opened his mouth then shut it, then opened it again, his eyes narrowing, “Have you been talking to Felix?”

Chan frowned, what? “What, no! I mean yes, I’ve been talking to Felix but not about this. Just about other stuff like league of legends and tog.” He paused, his mind whirling, “Why, have you been talking to Felix about this?”

Minho gave a huff and looked away, “Of course not. This is just weird. Coming from you.”

Chan started to feel slightly hysterical an emotion he rarely felt but one that Minho seemed to bring out in him, “What’s weird about wanting to spend quality time with my group members?”

Minho looked back down at his phone, “That’s not the weird part Chan. The weird part is wanting to spend time with me. We’re not exactly close.” His tone was mild, like he was commenting on the weather. It wasn’t the tone of someone who particularly cared but for some reason the words rang hollow and Chan’s chest ached a little, were they not close? He had always assumed that he was close with all his group members, maybe some more so than others but they were still a family weren’t they?

Chan tried a different tactic, he felt like he was trying to coax a stray cat through his window, not knowing what he would do next to spook him or scare him away. 

“That’s the point, so we can get closer. Be better friends.”

Minho’s eyes flashed, a barely there smile poking through, “I knew it! You have been talking to Felix!”

Chan was now, completely lost, what on earth did Felix have to do with anything? 

“No! Felix has nothing to do with this, why do you keep mentioning Felix?” 

Minho gave him an inscrutable look for a few seconds, his gaze once again reddening the tips of Chan’s ears and making his heart beat uncomfortably fast, before turning his eyes back to the phone in his hands. 

Chan waited and stared for a few seconds, wondering if Minho was going to say yes, or no, or anything. But he didn’t, and maybe that was the answer? 

Chan felt out of his depth, a familiar feeling when it came to Minho he thought as he admitted failure and turned to head out the door. It had been, stupid, the whole thing was stupid, sometimes being a leader meant that you accepted when things haven’t quite gone your way, but for some reason this rejection hurt more than anything else he had had to deal with. 

Lost in his thoughts Chan almost missed the shuffle of feet and noisy huff behind him, he turned to find Minho standing in the middle of the room, his brow furrowed like he was dealing with a mild annoyance, a facial expression Chan felt was directed at him way too often. 

“Urgh, fine, we can hang out. To be better friends or whatever. Ok?”

Chan stared, as he cupped his hand to the back of his neck, “Uh-uh yeah sure. Awesome.”

Minho eyed him suspiciously like Chan was trying to trick him, “but make sure you tell Felix I said yes.”

Chan almost rolled his eyes but stopped himself, he felt any wrong step might ruin whatever agreement they had just come too. Chan just nodded, “Yes, I will.”

Minho nodded, his face clearing and he smiled tentatively, his eyes lighting up and Chan started to feel a bit breathless, his attention caught so completely that when Minho grabbed his hand and place the bag of blueberries in it Chan had to stop himself from dropping the bag completely. 

That was how Felix found Chan a moment later, alone in his room looking confusedly down at a bag of blueberries he had been gifted with, Minho nowhere to be seen.  
“Uh Chan? Are you OK?” Felix asked.

Chan shook his head to clear it, was he ok? He felt lightheaded but he was exceptionally hungry. He took a blueberry and ate it, “Uh yeah, I’m OK. Just had a really strange conversation with Minho.”

Felix looked both amused and slightly concerned, “Oh, is everything OK between you too?”

Chan shovelled another handful of blueberries in his mouth, “I think so? Hard to tell.”

Felix started to look exasperated and Chan realised he wasn’t making much sense, he pulled a hand through his hair, “We’re going to hang out, just the two of us. So, I think we’re OK? But who knows?”

Felix’s face cleared and he smiled, “Just the two of you? That’ll be nice.”

Chan mirrored the smile; it was going to be nice. Terrifying, and scary as hell, but also nice.

“Oh, and he specifically wanted me to tell you he said yes. Whatever that means.” 

Felix’s eyes lightened and the smile turned into a smirk. 

“You going to tell me what that’s all about?” Chan asked as he munched on blueberries.

Felix shook his head, “Nope.”

Chan ruffled Felix’s hair as Felix tried to dodge out of the way, “Fine, keep your secrets Yongbok. Il just have to tickle them out of you!” and with that he threw the blueberries onto the bedside table and tackled Felix onto the bed, ignoring the laughing screams and protests as he mercilessly tickled all of Felix’s weak spots. 

But Felix didn’t tell.


	2. Chapter 2

The place still smelt the same as he remembered, the smoky hue permeated the atmosphere and the comfortable booths still sat along the far wall. Minho headed for one and sat down, his back to the door. 

He was wearing his favourite sweater; it was the one with the dark blue stripes and he liked it because it was comfortable. And he liked how it was oversized. Although maybe he should have thought the decision to wear it through more as what he was about to eat could get messy and he hated having to get stains out of white sweater fabric. The thought distracted him enough that when a voice called his name, he was still debating whether he had time to head back to the dorms and change. 

He looked up and saw Chan approaching, he felt his mouth lift at the sight of his leader donned head to toe in all black, this might be a strange situation but at least Minho could count on one thing, and that being Chan’s love of an all-black wardrobe. Including beanie which he pulled off as he made his way to Minho’s table. Minho noted Chan’s self-conscious hand run through his messy blonde hair, trying to do the impossible which was to tame the unwieldy curls that sprang from the confinement of the beanie. He wore ripped black jeans and a black hoody and Minho felt a surge of fondness for his leader, such an adult and guide for them all but still a sentimental angsty teenager at heart. 

“Why are you smiling?” Chan said, sitting opposite him, still unconsciously rearranging his hair. It was a losing battle. Minho absently wondered what it would feel to run fingers through that hair. “Nothing.” That was a lie, “Just looking forward to eating.” Minho said. 

Chan dimpled back at him, “Oh yeah? This place any good. I don’t think we’ve been here before.”

By “we’re” Chan was talking about himself and the rest of the members, not him and Minho specifically. The only time they ate together these days was when they were with other group members. 

Minho was about to answer before a booming voice startled them both, “Minho!” Minho looked over to find his old boss walking over. 

“What are you doing back here? Weren’t you here just last week? It was the little one with the blonde hair, the one who ate well.” Minho smiled at his old boss, Park Eun as he beamed down at them both, his eyes crinkling on his lined face.

“That was Changbin. He says to send his compliments.”

“What an excellent eater he was. Tell him he can come back anytime. And who’s this?” He said, peering down at Chan like a grandfather at a favourite new grandson, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before. Surely this is not the elusive Bang Chan, genius leader of Stray Kids?”

Chan’s ears went red, an endearing trait, and he started protesting as he bowed.

Park Eun’s eyes twinkled, “This must be him, so humble eh Minho? Why haven’t you brought him before?”

Now it was Minho’s time to redden as two sets of eyes trained on him, Park Eun’s kind and knowing and Chan’s curious. 

“Uh, Chan doesn’t have much time outside of group activities to do things like eat out. He is always too busy.” Was Minho’s lame response, Chan looked a little lost and Minho trained his eyes back on Park Eun, who was looking mischievous, which was always a bad sign. 

“Too busy for our Minho? Gosh he must have many important things to do then eat out with our handsome Minho. Don’t you think he’s handsome Chan?”

Chan spluttered and looked at Minho who just shrugged, “Uh, yeah, very, uh handsome.” Chan agreed weakly. 

Park Eun smiled, “Everyone always thought so. We used to call him handsome Minho, when he worked here, and customers were always commenting on his good looks.” Park Eun looked proud as if he had birthed Minho himself. 

Chan grinned, “I’m not surprised!”

Park Eun looked pleased at Chan’s response and before he could embarrass them both anymore Minho interrupted, “Channie eats well too, so make sure you send out lots of meat.”

Park Eun laughed and clapped Minho on the back, “Oh course Minho, any friend of yours are friends of ours.”

After he left Minho dared a look at Chan’s face, who was looking thoughtful, “Sorry about him, I should have warned you that he likes to embarrass my friends.”

Chan grinned, “It’s ok, I like him. And I like that you brought me here, I’m sad I’ve never been here before, it must be nice to have somewhere other than home where everyone treats you like family.” Chan’s expression sobered as he finished the sentence at that and Minho suddenly felt a rush of sudden sadness for Chan who was always so far from his own family, it must be so difficult, and Minho was never sure how he managed it. Minho knew he probably wouldn’t be able to live so far from his family and pets. 

“Our group is my family too. A big, dysfunctional, loud family but still a family.” Minho said, after a moment and Chan’s face brightened, his smile bright and his eyes soft as he gazed at Minho. A funny feeling developed in Minho’s belly at Chan’s smile.

“Well I’m glad I to have a brother like you.” Chan said, his eyes downcast as he fiddled with the chopsticks, his stupidly veiny hands unable to be still, even now. 

Minho snorted and looked away, “Why do you always do that?”

Chan looked up, confused, “Do what?”

“How can you just say things like that, and not feel...not feel...” 

“Embarrassed?” Chan answered for him as Minho struggled to find the right words. 

Minho let out a breath, “Yeah.”

Chan looked at him curiously, his eyes seeming to look straight through Minho, he then shrugged, “I get embarrassed sure, but I think wanting you guys to know how I feel is more important than my pride, I think. You’re all so important to me and I feel I don’t show it enough so if I can tell you then I feel better.”

Minho gazed at him, he had always thought it was easy for Chan, life seemed to be so effortless for him. He was popular and not just in their company, everyone seemed to like him and flock to him. As a leader they had all trusted him implicitly and immediately and Minho had never examined the reasons why. It was just so natural for Chan to lead a bunch of kids, good in some areas, inexperienced in others and if had been anyone else it wouldn’t have worked. Minho was only understanding that now. They had all been too young, too brash and too insecure. Minho and Felix had barely gotten to know most of them before they thrown into the survival show and Han and Hyunjin had been at each other’s necks constantly. The rest were young and inexperienced, and Minho had been barely been able to sing, let alone rap. 

But somehow, Chan had managed to form them, shape them into something wonderful. He had seen their strengths before they even knew they had them and pulled and encouraged them, sometimes with sweet words and cheers but other times with a hard word or with a look that said “I know you and I know you can do better”. And with that Chan had managed to turn a group of young, impetuous kids into a seamless unit. Sometimes it was almost impossible to believe that Chan was only a year older than him, sometimes Minho thought he held all the wisdom in the world.

Then other times, like this, Minho realised that Chan was just a young guy like them, someone who got insecure sometimes, who missed his family, who laughed and made jokes and someone who just wanted to feel loved. 

Minho realised he hadn’t answered but was saved when a young waiter brought over plates and plates of food. Chan, consequently, was distracted fully by the array of food placed in front of them and seemed to forget about their conversation immediately. 

“This is so good.” Chan said through a mouthful of meat, his face contented in the way food could only do. 

“Better then lamb chops?” Minho teased, he himself eating a bit slower than the carnivore across from him. 

Chan laughed, his eyes sparkling, “Almost, but not quite.”

When they had eaten their fill Chan sat back happily, patting his stomach, “That was amazing. I can really imagine you working here, your cooking is very good.”

Minho, wrongfooted once again by Chan’s compliments just snorted. Chan looked at him curiously, “Why do you do that?” 

“Do what?”

“You never accept my compliments, or you make a joke. I mean I don’t really mind it, I’m bad at taking compliments too, but you always seem to play it off, like it’s nothing.”

Minho opened his mouth, then shut it and he felt himself squirming under Chan’s too perceptive gaze. He himself wasn’t sure why, he made jokes when he felt uncomfortable and Chan’s compliments, above anyone else’s, made him feel uncomfortable. Not because they weren’t unwelcome but because it was too much, Chan was too much, it made him feel too much. 

Chan’s gaze seemed to soften, and he leaned back, “It’s ok, you don’t have to answer. That’s kind of a personal question.”

“No, it’s not that I –“

Chan gave a self-conscious laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes downcast, “No really, it’s fine. I’ve been told I can be too much sometimes you know? And I get that not everyone’s comfortable with the same stuff I’m comfortable with, so like yeah, forget I asked.”

Minho wanted to stamp his feet in frustration, then beat up whoever had made Chan feel like he was too much. Chan was their leader, their brother, their best friend. He was one of the best people that Minho knew and anyone who wanted to tear him down deserved to get the shit kicked out of them. 

And Minho owed him, he owed Chan more then he could possibly repay, they all did. Chan had picked him, out of everyone, Chan had picked Minho to be in their group and Minho would never be able to repay him fully. And he deserved a proper answer and Minho was being stupid. They had known each other for two years and it had been Minho who was always the one pulling back, he was always the one that dared not deepen their friendship. Chan had always given and given and given, so much so that Minho had taken it for granted. It was time for payback, and if that meant Minho opening up, just a little, and letting Chan in then Minho could do it.

Minho took a deep breath, “I’m not exactly good at emotions or talking about them. Not like you.” Chan opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it, seeming to sense that Minho needed space and time to speak.

Minho went on, “It’s not your fault, or anyone else’s. It’s just who I am. And you compliment me, a lot. I don’t know why but you do. And when you do it, especially in front of other people, or in front of a camera it makes me feel uncomfortable.”   
Seeing the crestfallen look on Chan’s face he rushed to continue, “Not in a bad way. Never in a bad way, I just,” Minho stopped and sighed, examining the table in front of him, unable to meet Chan’s heavy gaze, “I never know how to respond, so I make a joke or I brush it off or ignore it.” 

Chan waited, but when he realised Minho wasn’t going to go on, he said, “Is that why we aren’t close like the others, do you feel uncomfortable around me?” His expression was a little pained but was soon replaced with a weak smile, “I’ll stop complimenting you if that’s what you want. I might trip up a few times, but I swear I’ll try my best.”

God Chan was so earnest, too earnest, Minho sighed, how to say what he wanted to say without dying of embarrassment, “No Chan, it’s not that I don’t like compliments,” Minho paused and fiddled with the ring on his finger before looking up into Chan’s wonderfully expressive face, which was now serious, Minho’s voice barely above a whisper he said, “it’s just that I might like yours too much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANKS FOR READING!!! plz leave kudos and comments if you like it and want me to continue!!!

**Author's Note:**

> silly boys. comments and kudos feed me well so let me know if you like it!


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